YSU faculty union queries need for cuts
YOUNGSTOWN — The faculty union at Youngstown State University says findings by an accountant it has retained contradict the university’s position on staff reductions and program cutbacks.
YSU-Ohio Education Association said in a statement that it commissioned an independent analysis of university finances by Howard Bunsis, a professor of accounting at Eastern Michigan University.
In November, YSU trustees identified 179 courses that are recommended to be consolidated, rotated or not offered in the future, according to a state-required report that examines low-enrolled courses and academic programs.
More information is expected to be shared during the next board of trustees meeting at 10 a.m. Dec. 9.
In response to the union’s own analysis, Mark Vopat, YSU-OEA president, said that further program closures and faculty terminations are not necessary.
“YSU is currently in good financial condition, with solid cash flows and reserves — approximately $90 million — modest debt levels, a stable bond rating, and increasing state support,” he said in the statement.
Last year, YSU closed programs and laid off faculty through retrenchments and nonrenewals. In September of this year, 11 departments were put on notice by YSU Provost Brien Smith that another round of program closures and faculty layoffs may be forthcoming, YSU-OEA stated.
“We are hearing from faculty on campus that some lecturers have been nonrenewed this past week and that admission to some programs has been suspended,” Cryshanna Jackson, YSU-OEA spokesperson, said. “So despite data showing that YSU is on solid financial footing, they are firing people and closing programs anyway.”
Through a combination of nonrenewals, retrenchments, retirements without replacements, and voluntary separations, tenured and tenure track faculty at YSU have declined about 30 percent at YSU over the last decade, according to the union. “Enrollment during that time declined 19 percent,” Vopat said. “So, faculty have already been reduced substantially.”
Bunsis’ financial analysis shows that instructional spending at YSU is budgeted to decline $3.8 million this coming year after declining $3.5 million in the current fiscal year. “That’s $7.8 million less spent on instruction at YSU. That’s far more than needs to be cut from teaching and instruction,” Jackson said.
“As we pointed out in our response to Smith’s op-ed in The Vindicator, we are streamlining courses and updating programs to protect YSU’s diverse programs and the bottom line. The faculty at YSU are dedicated to preserving the diverse programs that have helped our students and the community for over 100 years,” Jackson said.
Smith and Neal McNally, vice president of finance and business operations, in the op-ed piece, argue that YSU faces a decline in state support, caps on tuition, declining enrollment, and student demand for particular types of degrees. Smith and McNally explained that program review and decisions about discontinuing programs have been an ongoing process at YSU.
University trustees have shared a review done this year in which 495 courses of 2,130 were determined to meet YSU’s definition of low-enrolled; and of those, 337 met the chancellor’s definition of low-enrolled, according to a summary of the study.
There were 179 that could be consolidated, rotated or not offered in the future with 158 having no action taken, the report stated.
No formal decisions have been made but YSU assured no program or major is ending immediately.
For programs deemed no longer viable, the university will stop accepting students into the program but YSU spokesman Ron Cole has said students would be able to complete their degrees.
The union, meanwhile, has pointed out that money spent on upper-level institutional support has actually increased over the past few years, and other areas of the budget have not been as aggressively cut compared to instruction.
“We hope this analysis sparks conversation on campus and in the community about YSU’s misaligned budget priorities and whether the ongoing cuts to programs and faculty, instead of other areas of the budget, are really in YSU’s best interest. We think that Bunsis’ presentation points to the conclusion that YSU is cutting instruction first and foremost, when that is the last thing a university should be cutting,” Jackson said.